After pleading guilty to drug fraud charges, a Johnson City heart surgeon was granted judicial diversion Wednesday in Washington Criminal Court, allowing his record to be expunged after serving five years probation.

Dr. William Walker, 54, was indicted on 34 counts of obtaining narcotics by fraud in November. He was fired from his job as a cardiothoracic surgeon at Johnson City Medical Center last year after an investigation began into allegations of his writing prescriptions to other medical staff who gave the drugs to him.

Walker’s drug scheme dated back to 2008. He was accused of using three surgical employees — a physician’s assistant, a cardiac nurse and a surgical tech to obtain drugs for personal use. The investigation began after the hospital noticed Walker’s high prescription activity.

Walker was never arrested in the case, but instead was served a criminal summons and later had to report to the Washington County Detention Center to be booked into the jail. He was released after the processing.